What is political science,
and how do we do scientific research?

PSCI 2270 - Lecture 1

Georgiy Syunyaev

Department of Political Science, Vanderbilt University

August 29, 2023

Plan for today


  1. What is (political) science?

  2. Empirical method

  3. Looking for questions

  4. Coming up with theory

  5. How to find literature

  6. Causal and descriptive inference

What is Science?


Science is…

A systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe

  • Goal: systematic knowledge

  • Conclusions: have uncertainty

  • Disciplined thinking: method

    • Empirical
    • Theoretical

Science is Curiosity

What is Political Science?


  • Political science: Same as science earlier +

    • Studies human behavior and institutions:
    • “Politics is more difficult than physics.” — Albert Einstein
    • Anything related to politics/governance sphere (i.e. pretty much everything)

  • Studying \(\Rightarrow\) explaining political phenomena

    • causal inference: Effect of \(X\) on \(Y\)
    • descriptive inference: Measure \(X\) or \(Y\)
  • But how are we different from other disciplines like political journalism?

We have METHOD 🤯

Empirical Method

What we should do:

  1. Ask question (puzzle)

  2. Come up with theory (model)

  3. Derive hypotheses (inquiries)

  4. Collect data

  5. Test hypotheses (analysis)

  6. Interpret

  7. Adjust theory (remodel)

What we do in (bad) reality:

  1. Uhh…

  2. Mix of:

    • Systematic searching
    • Accidental discovery

  3. Discover patterns in data

  4. Come up with some explanation

  5. Claim this is what you expected

🫠

Even More in Reality

Back to (Good) Cookbook

What we should do:

  1. Ask question (puzzle)

  2. Come up with theory (model)

  3. Derive hypotheses (inquiries)

  4. Collect data

  5. Test hypotheses (analysis)

  6. Interpret

  7. Adjust theory (remodel)

flowchart TB    
    subgraph Research
        direction LR
        M(Model) --> I(Inquiry) --> D(Data) --> A(Analysis) --> |Remodel| M(Model)
    end
    P{Puzzle} -.-> Research
    style Research fill:#282828,stroke:#fbf1c7,stroke-width:1px,color:#689d6a

Be TRANSPARENT! 🫥

Looking for the Question

  • Books, movies/TV series (e.g. Borgen, Veep, etc.)
  • Even social media: YouTube, Twitter ( \(\mathbb{X}\) ), TikTok, etc.

Theory of Theories

  • Theory \(\Rightarrow\) a model of the world that provides explanation of the causal relationship between two variables (\(X \rightarrow Y\)), or description of one variable (measure of \(X\))

  • Good models?

    1. positive: as “value-free” as possible
    2. verifiable: practical possibility of observing outcomes that could corroborate and falsify the theory
    3. falsifiable: Karl Popper (1902-1994)
    4. general: US Congress \(\Rightarrow\) legislative bodies (scope)
    5. concrete: clearly defined concepts (“strength of the leader”, “nature of the voters”, “intelligence of the policy maker”)

Models:


  • Simplified picture of the world

    • Theoretically
    • Observationally

  • Ockham’s razor

    • Prefer parsimony
    • Explain a lot with a little

“All models are wrong, but some are useful.” - George Box

Find good models


Question 1

  • Many individuals are driven in their behavior by their political convictions. Which statement applies to this theory?

    1. Not concrete
    2. Not falsifiable
    3. Not causal
    4. Normative
    5. A & D
    6. A & B

Find good models


Question 2

  • If German voters had known the extent of Hitler’s extremism (in terms of political ideology and violence perpetrated) they would have not voted for him. Which statement applies to this theory?

    1. Not concrete
    2. Not testable
    3. Not causal
    4. Normative
    5. A, B and D

Find good models


Question 3

  • Immigrants should receive citizenship immediately as soon as they start working legally (any job) in a foreign country. Which statement applies to this theory?

    1. Not concrete
    2. Causal
    3. Normative
    4. B and C

Find good models


Question 4

  • The best predictor of a vote for Republicans in the United States is the state of the economy in the previous 4 years. Which statement applies to this theory?

    1. Not concrete
    2. Not testable
    3. Not causal
    4. Normative
    5. None of the above

5 Questions About Every Theory


  1. What’s my question?

  2. Why is my question important?

  3. What’s my answer to the question?

  4. How would I know if I were wrong?

  5. Was I wrong?

Reviewing Literature


  • What do we know about topic related to \(X\)?

  • What do scholars think causes \(X\)?

  • What do scholars think \(X\) causes (what are its effects)?

  • In research about \(X\), do scholars use statistical analysis or case studies?

  • Which particular cases do they study?

  • The more specific the questions, the easier it will be to organize what you find

Relying on Reputation


  • Books from a university press with a reputation

    • Cambridge, Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Cornell, Oxford, Stanford, Michigan

  • Journals with a reputation for publishing good research

    • American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Political Science Research and Methods, Quarterly Journal of Political Science, Political Analysis
    • Subfields: International Organization, Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research, World Politics, Comparative Political Studies
    • In Economics: American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Econometrica, Journal of Political Economy
    • Especially helpful: Annual Review of Political Science, Journal of Economic Literature

Reading Yourself

Section Content
Abstract Short summary-make sure you understand this!
Introduction 1. The questions the paper will try to answer
2. Why it’s important to know those answers
3. A summary of what the answers are and how they were found
Theory 1. The outcome variable (thing to be explained or measured)
2. The independent variables (things that explain outcome)
3. Hypotheses about measure of or effects on outcome
Data/Methods 1. How and what data is collected
2. How variables are measured using this data
3. Technique(s)/Method(s) used to test the hypotheses
Results 1. Do estimated relationships correspond with hypotheses?
2. Statistical and substantive significance of estimates
3. Checks of alternative explanations
Conclusion Broader implications for the field of study
Appendix/Replication archive Usually online: all details needed to verify the procedures and results and possibly to replicate

Next Time


  • Causal and descriptive inference

  • Examples of both

  • Hands on with looking for literature

References